{ chaptered } Hellos are old goodbyes ★ 6

[dreamthenextday]

Title: Hellos are old goodbyes [6/?]
Fandom: Big Bang
Pairing: GRi and more!
Genre: Angst, fluff
Rating: PG
Summary: Secrets are out!
Warnings: Hit the drama button, homie.
A/N: THIS SONG IS NOT OBER.

The weekend was nearing and Seungri did all he could to get every single working shift that would be humanly possible to fit into his schedule without hindering schoolwork. He did not even want to go home after his boss told him that he did not want to see him for the rest of the weekend for fear the kid would burn the candle at both ends and die. Seungri did not go home though; he decided to crash his best friend Hara's place, in a female-only residence in a nearby university. The very first times he went there, the owner of the house, a beautiful but deadly young professor chased him out of her property with a baseball bat. How fast this woman could run in heels was his definition of witchcraft.

"Seunghyun, you're so gay."

His eyes shot up from the screen where Mario just died a very embarrassing death by a Goomba mushroom and he stared at his best friend, wondering where that came from. "Hara, whattaya babbling 'bout?" He stammered out in his Kwangju home dialect that of all of his friends, only she could speak and understand properly.

"I'm talking about you, stupid." She retorted, throwing one of her chocolate-coated pretzels at him. "Your roommate is bringing his girlfriend over and the others might also bring significant others and you stay here because you're pressed about being single and not having a girl to show off.... Hey! Don't eat it, it's mine!"

"I have every right to eat it, it touched my crotch." Seunghyun kept eating the snack projectile victoriously. "You so didn't listen from the beginning."

"I have!" Another pretzel was sent in his direction. "I just really don't believe you have the balls to like another guy."

"Where the fuck did that come from?" He narrowed his eyes at her, his finger hitting the Start button as soon as the level music replayed.

"Lee Seunghyun." She started. "I've known you for all my life but even if I met you last week, I would have figured you caught a little 'something special' kind of vibe from this guy. When you talk about him, you sound like you've found the eighth world wonder. You obviously like him a lot; you talk about him more than about you ex--- hexagon." She interrupted herself as soon as she noticed the sad look on his face. "Sorry, Panda."

He waved it off. "It's okay. It's been two months, Hara... almost three."

"I don't think you're over it if you're still counting." She shook her head. "I still think you like that guy though, which is rather odd. God knows how much you like women... Maybe your heart just wants to stop hurting so it took the first closest thing but you know, that would have been me in this case." She paused and tried to remember the words from her psychology class but to no avail. "I don't think you're man enough to handle feelings toward the same sex but you should man up enough to see him with a woman."

"Like when you saw Nicole with a man?" Seunghyun asked without thinking and she nodded slowly. He started to play again, to not cross eye-contact with her. "Uh... I meant. How's Kibum?"

"Worst save ever!" Hara stuck her tongue out. "He's fine and in Japan right now to sell his plush toys. There's a koala mascot now, its called Haragu. It's obviously the cutest." She munched on the pretzel. "I still have to figure out how to tell the idiot that I'm preggers."

"I don't care you're both rich heirs, it's dumb that your parents are forcing you both to have a child now. Can't be healthy anyways."

"I noticed. I'm too underweight to be a mother. I'll probably lose it again." She shrugged, trying to not sound as upset with it as she was. "Doing my best though... Being a wife is hard." She smiled through her complaint.

Seungri was always worried about her ever since her parents forced her into marriage with another rich young man by the name of Kim Kibum. He knew they both deeply cared for each other but it was rushed upon them because of Hara's short-lived romance with a girl called Nicole Jung who was urged into going back to America. Seunghyun would never forget the bittersweet sound of their vows or the hesitation in saying 'I do.' Hara never claimed to be unhappy with Kibum but the repeated attempts at having a child were taking their toll on her mind and body. She started to really want a child badly after her failed attempts and was looking forward to her pregnancy. Seungri could only support her as the best friend he was and wished she got what she really wanted.

"Anyways. Back to you." She pointed at him with her diet coke bottle. "You should go. You already told this guy with your name that you had suspicions about them, you're making yourself look like a huge homophobe."

"Am not!"

"I know. You're just butthurt."

"Shit..." Seunghyun cursed, watching Mario die again. "Then go with me."

"Are you trying to set a record for the most stupid things said in five minutes or less?" She threw another pretzel that he successfully caught in his mouth despite falling on his back none too gently.

"No. You being there would make it better." He rubbed his back and grinned at her, despite the little pain from his fall.

"Careful, idiot." She got down on the floor behind him to bend him back into sitting position and massage his back and shoulders lightly. He smiled; Hara would always have his back... literally too. "And us posing as each other's significant other got major old."

He snorted. They probably could not count how many times they pretended to be dating for a reason or another. If men hit on her and Kibum was on business trips, Seungri pretended to be her man and she pretended so when he needed to do not exactly manly things he would not do in front of his ex-girlfriend like shopping for presents for women or selecting a new hairstyle or simply to not spend White Day alone when his girlfriend was working.

"Come on!" He whined.

She nudged him in the back. "Seunghyun, I'm married!"

"Then don't wear the damn boulder." He pointed at the expensive white gold diamond ring she wore; the size of the rock always intimidated him.

"The boulder is bigger than your balls, shut up." She snorted. "Bring Sunhwa. She'd love it."

Seungri shuddered. Sunhwa was a sweet girl he met on a group date he filled in at and she was a little clingy to him, not to say a little hysterical when she laughed at his jokes. She would not interpret his intentions properly anyways. "No. She'd think I'm introducing her to marry or something."

"You're right." She agreed and pulled herself from the floor to disappear into her walk-in closet. "Let me find something cute and I'm all yours... Darling!"

He laughed and turned the game console off to go and fix his self a little too. It had been a while since he has seen his housemates after all; he should not look like a homeless bum.

When they were ready, he drove her to the shared house. He could already notice that there were more vehicles at the front than usual. He parked and walked to the house with Hara, a concerned look on his face. She noticed it quickly and slipped her hand in his when he opened the door. He gave her a small smile and a squeeze to her hand before raising his voice.

"I'm home!"

He could hear laughter (Daesung's being particularly loud) and music. Obviously, they were chilling in the living room where all the get-togethers happened. He brought her to the living room slowly, counting down to seeing what he had been avoiding all week.

"Hey kid!" Jiyong greeted first. "Thought the aliens got you. Come here! We got food and sweet compan--- Holy shit, bro. She's beautiful." He cut his speech short. "What are you waiting for? Introduce us."

"Holy shit right back at you. So many people in the house." Seungri dodged quickly.

"Hyori-noona is using the ladies room but she'll be back. She's a teacher so behave." Daesung grinned at him. "With Youngbae-hyung there's Hongjun-hyung. Call him Teddy-hyung. He's an OG. He works at the garage."

"Nice to meet you." Seungri bowed his head politely and gestured to Hara, who stayed politely silent. Skill she got from marriage and a lot of etiquette lessons. "This is Goo Hara. The best friend I'll ever have."

"I can see that." The man introduced as Teddy pointed down. "Mad ice you got on her finger, man."

"Oh shit! This early?!"

They got a full round of "awww..." that covered the older Seunghyun's outburst of shock. Then he took his time to introduce his roommates by name. He did not fail to notice the look she gave him when he introduced the guy he kept on talking about.

Jiyong flashed a charming smile. "How come you never told us you were hitched?"

"I am?" He looked at Hara and eventually noticed the pricey diamond. A detail he completely put out of his mind. It was not like he could say it was a couple ring or an engagement band, not with all those obvious carats. "Ah, no. I'm not her husb--"

"Hey, children." A female voice called. "Who's got a Maserati parked behind my Figaro and why am I not dating them?"

"Seungri, you came in a Maserati? Just how loaded are you?" Youngbae stared in admiration; he did love cars after all. Not enough luxury cars came his way at the garage. Teddy could only chuckle at the younger's excitement, whispering to call him cute which made him blush enough that he covered his face with his hat.

Hara shook her head. "We didn't. His car is parked near the motorcycle."

Out of nowhere, Jiyong jumped off the couch and broke into a run to the front door, almost knocking the older Seunghyun on who he has been sitting for lack of couch space.

"It's her!"

Seungri froze. It seemed as his time came. The others all rose to join Jiyong. Hara squeezed her best friend's hand and walked to the door right by his side.

Once they got to the front door, it opened just like fate wanted to spite him for some reason.

"Kiko!"

"Jiyong!"

Seungri wanted to puke. It was like a movie: Jiyong ran outside, she jumped into his arms, he spun her around a couple of times and they did not let go for a moment that just felt like forever to Seungri. His stomach was definitely tumbling like a dryer so he decided to concentrate on the other guy - maybe he was her personal valet - who was pulling bags from the car's trunk. Even more so when they walked back to the door with their arms looped together and bright smiles on their faces.

She had a sweet smile, was fairly tall for a woman, wore her fashion to attract attention at the right places, even her voice was sexy. She was beautiful but not by the popularized standard of beauty but her natural loveliness was just unquestionable, she had this foreigner feel and Seungri just knew that he would have definitely tried something on her given the right opportunity.

"And the little on here is Seunghyun part two. We call him Seungri, he's always the winner at rock paper scissors for chores." Jiyong introduced him in English. "And this be his wife Hara." He smiled before going back to Korean. "Kiko only speaks real basic Korean. English and... hey, Seungri speaks fluent Japanese! I forgot."

"Both Hara and I speak Japanese, actually." Seungri nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hello!" She greeted politely in Japanese. "It's really nice to meet you. Your wife seems definitely lovely. Hello to you too!" She gave them the very European kisses on the cheeks, probably an influence from the life in France. Seungri felt like he was getting sick off her obviously expensive perfume.

She then turned to the guy who was unloading the trunk. "I'll help him move this inside." She pointed back. "Oh and Hara-san? Do you mind following me? I have a dress here I can't fit in and I think it will look fantastic with your gorgeous waistline."

Physically strong at that? Seungri sighed, she seemed perfect for Jiyong in every single possible way. He let go of Hara who looked very curious with the idea of a dress. He felt defeated; he could only walk back into the house and make a straight line to his room before anyone noticed the look on his face. He suddenly did not feel so sociable anymore.

"Hey Mr. Hubby. Where are you going like that?"

He turned around and straightened himself to look into the woman's eyes. He was confused at first but when his mind was able to cancel out the blue contact lenses and the different hair color, his eyes widened. "Hyori-noon--seongsaengnim?!" He backed off and had the reflex of looking down at her hand if she held a baseball bat. Why was Hara's professor here anyways? "What a pleasant surprise... What brings you so close to my room?"

"I was in Daesungie's." She pointed at the oversized shirt she wore. "I needed to change my bra and this one can't be worn with my tank top so I borrowed his shirt."

"Ah... That's nice." Seungri blushed. This was more information than what other girls he knew would reveal. Not that he should mind since Hara was ridiculously blunt at times too. "So you're dating Daesung-hyung?"

" He's my best friend. I'm already engaged." She shook her head and showed the modest silver ring around her finger. Seungri decided that Daesung was one lucky guy nonetheless. "But I'm here as the protector of love, justice and truth." She folded her arms over her chest. "You know Hara's husband would flip at what you guys did, right? Daesung bought it completely and just texted me about it."

"He wouldn't, Kibum is too laidback for that... and it doesn't matter. They can think we're married. I'm with her more often than he is." He made a face. She knew Hara very well and was acquainted with Kibum since she was also good friends with his brother. What did Seungri get himself involved with his time?

"But it's a lie." She frowned. "Daeusungie told me that you wanted the others to be true to you. It's really unfair that you don't do it too."

He looked away, there is not a thing he hated more than being wrong about something. More like he hated being told so, it was the only thing about himself that he could call uncomfortably childish. The only good thing about it was that he could realize that he was wrong and could feel guilt from it, like at this moment.

"Go do something about it before it gets carried too far." She said and pushed him toward the stairs for him to go back down. She was a lot stronger than he thought she would be so he went down as she said.

Once downstairs, he went to look for Hara and followed her giggles up until he was suddenly pulled by the arm and into the kitchen.

"What the hell?" He looked up.

Nothing.

He looked down; Youngbae smiled at him. "Hey Seungri." He said in a small voice.

The guy had major moments of boldness but the rest of the time, he was bashful and incredibly soft-spoken. He was the sweet kind and Seungri could get along with him very easily, they even went to the gym together with Daesung. Youngbae was also the first of the bunch Seungri was comfortable enough with to call him 'hyung.'

"Hey hyung." The younger greeted. "Did you eat today?"

Youngbae nodded. "I ate, thanks for asking." He gestured toward the counter that was further into the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Seungri walked to the counter and leaned against it. "What's up, hyung?"

Youngbae took his hat off and fiddled about with it for a minute; he ran his hand over his flattened faux-hawk before putting the fashion accessory where it belonged. "Yeah, so... Seunghyun-hyung told me about you saying you don't think you know us enough."

"Oh, that." Seungri smiled at him gawkily. How weird was it that Hyori only just confronted him about this same topic a few mere seconds ago. "Ah, that's fine. I'll know you guys better eventually. I haven't been here for too long ye--"

"And you told him you thought Jiyong was gay." The shorter man interrupted, he looked like he wanted to get the topic out of the way all in one shot like he was a little uncomfortable with the topic. "If anything, I should be the one who talks about this with you. I think you know why."

That was an obvious one. Jiyong and Youngbae were best friends since high school and Seungri was told about it enough times for him to assimilate the information and he thought the way they always had each other's back was rather endearing in the same way Hara always had his.

"I know, hyung."

Youngbae blinked in surprise. "How in the world do you know?"

"Daesung-hyung told me. TOPhyung too. I think Jiyong-hyung mentioned it a few times too."

Now the grease monkey only looked like Seungri just told him he found the way to Narnia. He looked shocked, disturbed and the younger man could even see hints of resentment in that scowl on his face. Did he say something wrong? Did something wrong again? Was it the way he looked down to look at the other properly?

"And there I thought they understood that I wanted to be the one telling you about Teddy and I."

Pause. Seungri's brain needed to reboot. Twice.

"Bite-sized-hyung says whaaaaat?!"

Youngbae jumped a little, this time confused from how Seungri spoke in the thickest Kwangju accent he has ever heard in his whole life. He did not even understand a thing but from the look on Seungri's face, he could tell that they were probably not talking about the same topic all along. It felt like he just dropped a bomb.

"Whoa... Uh." The older scratched the back of his head. "...Surprise?"

"You can say that twice!" Seungri exclaimed in proper Korean before calming down enough for his eyes to stop looking like wide saucers. "So... You're...?"

"Gay, homo, queer, fagmosexual. Name it." Youngbae nodded, blushing a bit. "I meant to tell you earlier but you honestly did not look like the kind of guy who would take it right. The guys know about it but I don't really tell anyone about that... Even they took time to accept it."

"You mean that guy out there is your boyfriend?" Seungri pointed toward the door.

Youngbae nodded. "3 years and still counting."

"Wow. I'm kind of..."

"Thrown, I know."

"So Jiyong-hyung isn't...and you are...?"

"I hope you will eventually accept me." Youngbae smiled shyly, looking down at his shoes a bit.

Seunghyun took a few moments to sort his thoughts out before putting a comforting hand over the other man's shoulder. "Of course I accept you. I mean, it doesn't make you a bad person. I'm cool with it..."

The other man looked up with a smile that widened so much that his eyes were smiling along with his lips. It was cute in a very puppy-like way to Seungri. "Don't worry. I generally don't mention it so you don't need to worry about any level on the ‘too much information' scale. I have a ‘beard', just so you know... She's called Sandara."

"The only thing I normally ask gay men is if they find me attractive. It's good for the ego." Seungri joked and his laughter was soon echoed by his friend's.

"You're kind of hot..." Youngbae grinned. "....headed. Too young for my tastes, too. You are kind of charming though. Teddy-hyung said he liked your eyes."

Seungri beamed but then his smile faded. "Say, hyung... Such honesty should be mutual, right?" He started, looking down at the counter. "Uh... Hara isn't really my wife. She's married to some rich heir guy but I'm really only her best friend. I didn't know how to tell you this right away."

The smaller guy laughed. "I knew that!" He nudged the other's shoulder. "I've seen her on the business news with Kim Kibum-sshi, presenting that mascot that looks a little like her. They announced they got married and everything so I knew." He nodded in an understanding way. "I'm sorry Teddy-hyung talks so much. If you want, I'll slide the info the others' way. Don't worry about it; we did corner you after all."

"I'd like that." Seungri looked pleased with his idea. "Thank you, hyung."

"There's something I'd want you to do first."

"What is that?"

"Maybe talk to Jiyong? The word about honesty and all that got to him and he didn't react to it and since the guy is kind of not always readable, I wonder if he's offended by it any."

"Oh." Seungri bit his lip. "I'll go talk to him tonight. Apologize if needed."

"Good maknae." Youngbae smiled and nodded toward the door, "Now let's join them before my boyfriend accuses me of stealing you."

The rest of the evening went quite well: There was pizza, some beer and wine and good music. Hyori knew a lot of dirty jokes that made Youngbae blush enough that Daesung had to pull the more PG-13 ones out, Kiko talked about her travels and tried to teach Seungri how to flirt in English, Hara looked fabulous in the designer dress she just got, Jiyong along with TOP and Teddy broke into a random freestyle rap competition that TOP won for inserting the rap from Rebecca Black's infamous song into it all. There were light conversations, jokes about how Youngbae should invest in high heels like Hara's, lots of laughs and in the end Youngbae had to go drive Hyori and Hara home because they had to attend or teach a class in the morning. There were a lot of jokes on how Hyori would teach with a hangover.

Once the house was quiet again, Seungri walked around with a glass of water in hand to sober up. Daesung was sleeping on the floor and mumbling things in his rest, which was just hilarious enough to be recorded but Seungri decided to not be this cruel. He was going to go and help him up when he noticed some moving on the couch. Someone was having a rumble in their sleep... That was what he thought until he squint and saw that there were actually two people on the couch.

They were kissing.

Seungri assumed that it was Teddy and Youngbae but his hyung was still out because the residence where Hara and Hyori lived was still fairly far away from the place but it could not make sense that it was anyone else. A feminine sigh from the pair made him realize that one of them was Kiko. He rolled his eyes, the other one was certainly Jiyong... but the rough tone in that groan could not ever be from the stylist's voice.

"Holy shit." He mouthed.

It was Seunghyun and Kiko.

What to do? Jiyong was surely sound asleep at this time to recover from the day and prepare for the next one and disturbing the little sleep the guy got was just unfair, was it? He had to know, though. Every part of the bro code would stipulate that this kind of situation should not be undercover since Kiko was his girlfriend and Seunghyun was a bro breaking the code.

He tried his best to not make any noise as he went upstairs toward Jiyong's room. He could have knocked politely but the door was opened. The guy probably just passed out doing something again.

No. Jiyong was definitely not asleep.